GEARING UP
We can think of several business meetings where the Doze Alert could have come in handy, but this device is actually meant for long road trips where falling asleep could result in more serious consequences. Made of plastic, about 2 inches long, weighing a half-ounce and shaped like a hook for slipping around the outside of the ear, the Doze Alert comes with a 1.5-volt battery that activates an incredibly annoying buzzer the second your head begins to nod. The buzzer continues until the head comes back up into position. The piece can be adjusted to 18 positions, from your head moving ever-so-slightly to your chin slipping down onto your chest, and the hook is slender enough to allow room for glasses. It comes in a box with adhesive on the back in case you want to stick it somewhere in the car, and the instructions are simple and easy to follow. | $39.95, sav-a-life.com
BOOK YOUR VACATION
“Travelers’ Tales from Around the World” is a well-known series of books that takes readers on journeys via essays, stories, meditations and travelogues, and “Her Fork in the Road: Women Celebrate Food and Travel” ($16.95, Travelers’ Tales Guides) is a delightful part of the collection. Edited by Lisa Bach, the book gathers the writings of such celebrated authors as M.F.K. Fisher, Ruth Reichl, Isabel Allende and Laurie Colwin, with a focus on capturing not only their appreciation of food, but how it relates to place, from Greece to Tunisia to Poland to Nepal. The subjects vary widely as well, and are as esoteric as what Bengali widows cannot eat and the pursuit of the great white truffle and as universal as funeral foods and arguing with Grandma. Eat curry with Margi O’Connell-Hood in Malaysia, explore the Amazon with Allende, learn more than you wanted to know about blue crabs in the States with Laura Harger. The only downside about this book is that it can’t be read on an empty stomach, or if you don’t have travel plans within the next few months – the writing is that evocative.
YOU MUST BE DREAMING
Live out your fantasies as Grizzly Man or Woman during one of the “Wolf and Bear Spring Expedition” trips that run April 24-June 16 at Yellowstone National Park, where an estimated 1,200 to 1,400 grizzlies roam. (Yellowtone is No.3 on the Travel Industry Association of America’s survey of national treasures Americans would most like to visit.) The trips encompasse the best of so many things held in a place often referred to as North America’s “Little Serengeti,” tied into the trend of “stay-at-home” adventures. Promising up-close encounters with wildlife, the Wolf and Bear Expedition involves two- and three-day tours of the Lamar and Hayden valleys. Each trip is limited to seven participants and led by staff biologists from Wildlife Expeditions, a division of Teton Science Schools. And because wolves den in the same areas where bears hunt, the expeditions offer two for the price of one, in addition to other wildlife and the chance to see Old Faithful, too. Guests travel roundtrip from Jackson Hole, Wyo., in a customized safari-style vehicle with opening roof hatches; the price includes hotel, meals, snacks, beverages, gratuities and park entrance fees. Cost is $495 per person for two days and $745 for three. Call 307-733-2623 or visit wildlifeexpeditions.org.
TRAVEL BY NUMBERS
| Epic Adventures from Outside Magazine
In its March issue, Outside magazine announces its Trip of the Year winners for 2006, identifying the most innovative and epic outfitted adventures in every region of the world.
Overall winner: The Great Walk, Tsavo National Park – Mountain Travel Sobek (Kenya)
South America: Tribes of the Amazon – Ker & Downey (Brazil)
Asia: Hiking and Rafting in Yunnan – Mountain Travel Sobek (China)
Oceania: Secluded-Isle Hopping – Ocean Voyages (South Pacific)
Eastern Europe/Middle East: Mountain-Biking the Trails of the Troodos – KE Adventure (Cyprus)
Central America: Cross-Country Traverse – World Expeditions (Costa Rica)
Africa: Fly-Fishing the Cosmoledo Islands – FlyCastaway (Seychelles)
Western Europe: Walking the Piedmont – Butterfield & Robinson (Italy)
North America: Mega-Yacht Heli-Skiing – Sea to Sky Helisports and Megayacht Adventures (British Columbia)
Polar Regions: Climbing and Photography Journey – Aurora Expeditions (Antarctica)
WEBSITE
greatbuildings.com
It’s not so hard to find decent museums, historic sites or places to eat when traveling. Guidebooks are full of them. But making sure you don’t miss the best architecture in your destination city is trickier. You need inside information. This site, loaded with photos, commentary and background info, provides plenty and allows you to search out admired structures by city, state and country, or by architect. A few clicks on Great Buildings Online before you go will help you identify that lovely Libeskind in London or that swank Schindler in Southern California.
GEO QUIZ
| Where are these places?
1. In November 2004, airlines were forced to divert flights to avoid flying through ash and gas emissions from a volcanic eruption on which island country in the North Atlantic?
2. In October 2004, shortly after the U.S. Congress modified corporate tax laws, the European Union lifted sanctions on U.S. goods. The administration of the European Union is headquartered in which country?
3. In November 2004, hunters shot the last known female brown bear native to the Pyrenees. This bear lived in the Aquitaine basin in which country?
4. In December 2004, the largest island in the Greater Antilles began a military exercise involving thousands of troops and civilians. Name this country.
5. In November 2004, President Vladimir Putin signed a bill confirming his country’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement aimed at reducing global carbon emissions. Putin is president of which country?
6. In November 2004, a major snowstorm left 100,000 people without power in a region of the Carpathian Mountains in which country that is north of Bulgaria?
7. In October 2004, a boat of migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of North Africa’s smallest country in area. Name this country.
8. In December 2004, a typhoon hit the island of Luzon, causing floods and landslides that killed hundreds of people in which Asian country?
Answers: 1. Iceland 2. Belgium 3. France 4. Cuba 5. Russia 6. Romania 7. Tunisia 8. Philippines
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
